Equal Access to Healthcare

1. This discussion presents the opportunity for students to address the inequality of access to healthcare in the U.S. using moral and ethical reasoning. There is overwhelming evidence that social inequalities affect health outcomes. Many argue that lack of health care access related to poverty is a human rights concern in the U.S. and should be subject to public and social justice inquiry. As such, the enactment of the Affordable Care Act seeks to implement health equity. Prepare and post a response to the following prompt:

From the viewpoint of a social justice activist present an argument to a Congressional committee as to the ethical and moral reasons for supporting the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Through research, anticipate an item of debate that will be offered to you by the panel and use at least one ethical theory or perspective from the text to support your evidence of moral imperative.

2. Food Justice/Food Deserts

The purpose of this discussion is to offer students the opportunity to debate the issue of food justice and food deserts. Food deserts are a significant issue in poorer neighborhoods in the U.S. In many of these neighborhoods the only access to food is through a local convenience store or a fast food restaurant. This severely limits the options for the poor to have access to fresh and wholesome food and has been evidenced as a key reason for the obesity epidemic in the U.S. This issue is encompassed in the overarching topic of food justice, which highlights the issue of food deserts, as well as public access to genetically modified foods, organic foods, and the issues of equal access for positive food options in light of public health and social inequality. Prepare and post a response to the following prompt:

Read the Hilmers article assigned this week. From reading this article, assume the realization that your town is a food desert and you would like to do something about it. Prepare an evidenced argument to present to your local town council, which outlines an idea to offer healthy food options to your town. Use at least one ethical theory or perspective to support the moral or ethical reasoning for this program to be implemented.